1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to repeating small arms and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a repeating spear gun for use in an underwater environment.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The utility of a multi-shot capability in a firearm is well known, and numerous patents have been issued for repeating weapons of various types. The convenience and added protection associated with repeating land weapons are equally desirable in a weapon designed for use in a marine environment. A diver is subjected to dangers which can be met by personal sidearms to no less an extent than a person in a land area containing various species of wild animals.
Th optimum capacity of a firearm is related to a number of factors. These factors include the inconvenience of reloading, the increased bulk required as the capacity of the weapon is increased, the mechanical complexity required to increase the capacity, and the quantity of ammunition the user can carry. In a land weapon, the number of cartridges that can be carried and the ease of reloading are such that it is generally not a great advantage to provide the weapon with a large capacity. Reloading will be required in any event to use the quantity of ammunition the user can conveniently carry, and the complexity of a weapon and the bulk necessary to provide the weapon with a large capacity often militate against providing for large capacities in the design of land weapons.
A different situation obtains if the weapon is to be used underwater. Ammunition suitable for use underwater is usually considerably bulkier than ammunition used on land; spears are generally used in an underwater environment to avoid range limitations encountered when bullets and the like are fired underwater. As a result, the user of such a weapon is more limited in the amount of ammunition he can carry than is the user of a land weapon. Moreover, rapid and precise movements underwater are more difficult than on land, particularly where the diver must wear gloves, a situation which often occurs. Accordingly, reloading is a more difficult task so that an increase in bulk which would be unacceptable in a land weapon is an acceptable alternative to multiple reloading of an underwater weapon. By providing the weapon with a large capacity, the number of times a diver must reload to exhaust his supply of ammunition may be reduced with only a relatively small increase in the bulk and complexity of the weapon.
It has long been recognized that the capacity of a revolver type firearm may be increased by providing the cylinder thereof with more than one set of chambers and means for selecting the set of chambers to be fired when the firing mechanism of the revolver is actuated. A number of weapons of this type have been patented for use on land. While the principal of multiple sets of chambers is viable in an underwater weapon, the problem of adapting such a system to underwater use has heretofore not been solved.